


You Look Beautiful

by Naveri



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Bet Kieran gives good hugs, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Pining, Smooth brains, Warm and Cozy on a snowy night, fighting angst by moonlight, new year party, one too many mistakes, winning love by having a warm jacket and charming abilities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naveri/pseuds/Naveri
Summary: Lauren invited Kieran to her Uncle's New Year Party.He didn't show up.So, Lauren does what Lauren does best.
Relationships: Lauren Sinclair & Kieran White, Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White
Comments: 13
Kudos: 114





	You Look Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> I'm fighting the angst, and I will keep on fighting.

She huffed in exhaustion the entire way there, foolishly bare shouldered with frozen exposed toed heels to match. Lauren could admit her thoughts weren't coherent from the several drinks she slammed down throughout the evening. Her immediate fury of frustration when the party was over came down hard, which led her to stomping around Ardhalis when the moon was high in the sky, hiding precariously behind the clouds that brought the heavy snowfall and chilling winds that she did not prepare for in the slightest. 

Biting away at her numb lip, she fit her cold fingers beneath her arms. She had just begun warming up to his presence and then he _does this._

* * *

"Hey, wait, you're not coming with us?" She attempted to keep the surprise in her voice to a minimum, the familiar energy between the four of them in and around the precinct something she was becoming comfortable with. 

He let the truth lay out. "Isn't that the better option here?"

She can’t answer him, turning away for a moment. It’s her first mistake. Her second is the next words from her mouth. "Well, before you go...my Uncle is having a New Years party this weekend, he told me to invite you...so um...do you want to come?"

"I'll see if my schedule is open." The sarcasm masks the actual consideration in his eyes, giving her a smile and leaving with a wave. 

* * *

Her third mistake comes when she arrives at his apartment. It's the sixth time of her fist pounding on the door that she surmises that he isn't even home. She should have considered that when she noticed the lights off. _So, what? He really couldn't open his schedule for this?_

She laughs at her current state, the wet material of her form fitting black dress clinging to her chilled and frozen skin. It wrapped along her lower thighs nicely, nice enough not to ride up. The top however, was far more bare, revealing a low cut v to her dewy cleavage and the thin straps ready to slip from her tiny shoulders at any moment. With a shiver, her reddened fingers fell to her arms to warm up.

_I have to go back now...ugh…_

Lauren kicked the snow away near the steps, groaning at the feel of the wet flakes melting beneath her toes and soaking her heels. She stepped down gently, wondering how in hell she didn't slip and fall storming all the way here. With a click of her tongue and a look back she huddled her arms together and steadied her pace back the way she came.

* * *

**Kieran POV**

Kieran had never planned on going, the moment she had asked. Knowing it wasn't her personally asking him made it too difficult to show up. She couldn’t even be honest on whether she cared if he was out with them or not the last time. _If she doesn't want me there, I have no reason to show up. It was better not to make things harder for her._ And yet, he was starting to realize he made things so much more difficult after his chilling walk back home from a long discussion about forgeries and bodies. 

Better to get work done then sulk around. Kieran's eyes found themselves cast to the snowy ground most of his walk home, and he was thankful for it. He noticed the disturbance when he made his way to the stairs that led to his apartment door. The snow wasn't disturbed anywhere else, besides the lead up to _his place_. Kieran stopped to a halt at the footprints in the snow, eyes training to the left and then slowly to the right until it curved into the path ahead. His brow perked.

_Bella? Why would she be here?_

Kieran checked for his pocket watch, already following the heels marked in the snow that seemingly came and went this same way. The unsettling in his heart told the truth of the matter, but his mind ignored it, still prepared to encounter Bella if need be. It was nearing 1 AM, the first day of the new year already upon him, and the very concept of the other coming here this late had him more in panic than meeting the viper in a dark alleyway, because what better reason would she have to come here on a holiday at this time than for a bad reason? Has something happened? He couldn't tell based on the marks in the snow. He only knew the feeling he had one too many times lately.

The feeling of regret. 

* * *

She'd just made it past the bridge and down one of the more comfortable walkways home. More snow, but less of a road and more of a nice quiet path lined with window shops and beds of flowers. She liked the lights here mixed with the garland that hung low above. They were decorations set up to bring life to the dull world of winter, to ring into the new year, and give some kind of cheer to the people of the city. And yet, not even her favorite spot in the area could lift the weight in her chest. Was it the idea of just being stood up? _He didn’t say he was going to show up._ It was better that he wasn’t home, she would have made a fourth mistake by storming in there and yelling at him. She had no right to pressure him into it. But then why?

_Why?_

She asked, as the cold wet tears curled along her lashes and fell to meet her damp dress. _Why am I crying?_ Perhaps, because she was always the one that didn’t show up, or didn’t bother. The one who never got hurt because she never got close enough to _get hurt._

_Does that mean I got too close? I cared too much?_

She doesn’t bother with the next thought, the slip of a heavy and warm jacket engulfing her back and shoulders and wrapping tightly along her indecent front. 

“Lauren…” the familiar baritone voice of her foolish partner and the tight hold of his hands on her shoulders warms her up inside as he greets her with a concerned expression. She wipes away the tears far too late, eagerly pushing her arms into his jacket he so graciously gave over and quickly buttoning it up. She looks like a potato in it, she’s sure, but it’s still comfortably warm from the previous wearer. 

“Thanks…” she mutters, turning away from his questionable eyes. 

The judgement on his tongue makes her flinch. “What are you doing? Idiot.”

“What?” She retorts almost instantly.

Kieran sighs, “You, coming all the way out here, dressed like _that.”_

“It was a mistake, that’s all.” _My one too many mistakes._

She flinches not at his touch but the warmth of his fingers grazing over her cold cheek, a few of her wet strands of hair pushed away at his caress. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes quietly. 

Lauren can’t help her quip, hoping the frigid wind hides the blush creeping up on her neck. “I’m glad you weren’t home, I would have thrown you out the window.”

She receives a laugh from him that thaws the ice in her bones. “Well deserved, what an asshole. That guy.” Kieran smirks, rolling his eyes and letting them fall back to her when she laughs in return. 

“Talk later, come back home with me?” He asks bashfully, this time turning away from her and seemingly much too interested in the snow topped upon a bench.

“Yes please, I’m freezing,” Lauren admits, not waiting for him to answer and turning on her stupid heels to walk back. Her world is lifted on its head when she’s carried off her feet and into the arms of the man now cold from the loss of his jacket. Lauren squeals, clinging to his neck tightly before getting comfortable. “Wha...warn me next time!”

“Should I have said something stupid again?” He’s grinning, hands tightly secured to her legs and thigh. 

“Preferably,” she huffs, subconsciously leaning into his chest. 

“Duly noted, Officer.” 

There’s a silent pause, the crunching of snow and the heavy breaths of her partner the only thing occupying her thoughts. “Thanks...I didn’t really think about the weather when I came storming out here,” she admits gingerly. 

“You never think when you’re angry.” 

They don’t bother reminding each other of the night she stormed the cave, instead falling back into the silence of the snowfall. Lauren clears her throat, hands gripping at the sleeves of his jacket huddled around her like a safety blanket. “I’ll work on that. Hey, um...could I be carried on your back?”

Kieran scoffs, the tight squeeze on her thigh warming her further. “Why, so you can take what warmth I have left?”

“If you’re offering?” She questions with a sloppy grin. 

She fears the smirk appearing on his face, the way his arms bring her closer into his chest. “I can offer a lot more than back warmth.” 

He’s lucky her arms are tightly secured around his neck or he’d be decked into the wall of a building nearby. “Forget I even asked.” 

The silence returns once more, Kieran letting her down for a moment until she can hop on his back and wrap herself around him. His hands fall back to her thighs as she settles nicely against him. _Enticing and safe._ Lauren hums with exhaustion, her cheek falling to rest upon the back of his shoulder. The vibrations of his voice push her awake. 

“Hey, Lauren?”

“Hmm?” 

“Never cry because of me, okay?”

“...Okay,” she nods, nose tucked deep into the crevice of his neck and the scent of the fresh snow upon the air mixed with the comfort of honey and charcoal lulling her to slumber. The reverberations of a chuckle and three simple words guide her to sleep with a smile. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this random improv I put together ^.^ kudos and comments are sugar cubes for my coffee ty! <3


End file.
